A Different Kind of Challenge
by fizzypinklemonade
Summary: It is the triwizard tournament, only things are different. To win, Harry has to train a muggle girl in the arts of magic and help her to compete against others. A story of friendship, hate, love, and loss. Please Read!
1. The Fourth Champion

Hey peeps! I thought I would try my hand at writing fanfics for a change because then you don't have to make up characters and setting and all that crap… Pleeeeeeeez be nice, considering I have never done this before and I don't like it f people are mean. I understand if you don't like OC pairings, especially with Harry… but deal with it.

Oh, also, let me explain when this story takes place. It is my version of the Triwizard Tournament but it takes place in fifth year (so Harry is fifteen… duh) and the fifth book has already happened (Cedric isn't dead yet though, but Sirius is, and you know about the prophecy and all that) Forget about the Order of the Phoenix though, because it won't turn up in this story.

Oh and I don't own Harry Potter or anything like that because… well I am just not that lucky… sighs

On with the show…

"_The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air and borne upon it was another piece of parchment. _

_Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared hit throat and read out-"_

The silence pressed on Harry's ears, broken only by the low whisper in which Dumbledore had just spoken. "Harry Potter," he had said. All eyes turned to Harry.

"What?" whispered Harry bewildered. As if answering his question, Dumbledore repeated what he had just read from the tiny, charred piece of parchment that the goblet of fire had just spat out only a minute ago.

"Harry Potter." He read again, this time louder and more confidant. The silence was deafening.

Harry wanted to look confused, like he hadn't just heard Dumbledore shout out his name to the whole school. As if he didn't know why everyone was staring at him with expressions of wonder and pride (mostly from the Gryffindors) hate and malice (from the Slytherins and the majority of the Hufflepuffs who supported Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion) and confusion and disbelief. (From everyone else, including the teachers.) But he started to fidget, because he did. He heard the other Gryffindors hissing at one another, followed by the Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws, and finally, the Slytherins. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students didn't even look over. They just sniffed or rolled their eyes in disgust, or simply stared off into space.

Harry could hear them whispering and murmuring. "It's all about me… my name… the Goblet? Why? How did it happen?" he mumbled to himself under his breath.

Ron, who had been concentrating on pulling a stray fray from his robe looked up

"What's with the staring… and the whispering… and th- bloody hell Hermione don't give me that look, it could kill a skrewt!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well RONALD if you had been paying attention, you might have noticed that Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire."

Ron's eyes widened and his eyebrows nearly vanished into his fiery hair. "Really. You- You're serious? Harry, why aren't you up there?" He gestured to the door at the far end of the hall where the other champions had disappeared to not a moment ago. Dumbledore was waiting patiently with a strange twinkle in his eye.

"… huh?" Harry asked, afraid of what might happen to him if he went up there. They couldn't expel him just because of this… could they? He certainly hadn't put his name in… so ha hadn't done anything wrong… right?

"Ron's right Harry, you should be up there, they are waiting for you." And with that Hermione gave him a light shove, just enough to get him out of his seat, but still land on his feet. Harry started to walk to the head table, but looked back.

"GO!" Ron and Hermione said urgently. Harry swallowed and nodded. He definitely felt sick now, and the buzzing of the students around him, watching him walk by wasn't making him feel any better. They sounded like a mob of angry bees, with which his fate was sealed. Every step weighed him down, and for some reason, it looked like the end of the Great Hall wasn't getting any closer. He wished that the enchanted ceiling would suck him up, or that the floor would give way beneath him. Anything so that he wouldn't have to speak to the teachers face to face.

After what seemed like an hour, or a day, or maybe even a week, he reached the head table. "Right this way Harry." Dumbledore remarked as he led him through the door.

After another endless walk down a dark corridor, Harry came to the room where the other three champions had gone. As he entered, Cedric stood up.

"D'they need us for something?" Krum and Fleur looked up from their respective places.

"…er, well no. Actually-" Harry started, but he didn't get any further for just at that moment Snape burst into the room.

"POTTER! I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THIS. CROSSING LINES, BREAKING RULES, IT'S ALWAYS YOU! I PROMISE YOU THAT YOU WILL NOT BE COMPETING, AND SHALL BE EXPELLED AS SOON AS I-"

"Monsieur?" Fleur interrupted him indignantly. "Suurrrly you cannot mean zat… weell zat zis leetle boy iz to be in ze competition?!"

"HE MOST CERTAINLY-"

-"will be. Unless something comes up that is." Snape turned around argrily.

"But surely Professor Dumbledore, obviously Potter has broken some very serious school rules here, and he MUST be punished!

"Now Severus, that is unreasonable. You can't just go around pointing fingers at people like that." Professor McGonagall had caught up with the others. "However it is questionable as to why your name, Potter…"

"Minerva, Severus these are questions we would all like to know the answers to. In fact I have quite the list of questions up in my office that need answering, a great deal of them much more trivial than the ones at hand" Dumbledore chuckled to himself. "Now Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No, sir." Harry answered quietly.

"Good, and did you ask an older student to put your name in for you?"

"No sir."

Snape snorted. "You expect to believe the boy?" He questioned with a sneer.

"Well, of course Severus, I see no reason for him to lie to me. I am sure that Harry here is just as confused about the goings on as we are." Harry nodded vigorously.

Snape just turned up his nose and walked out of the room. The other champions were all looking at him silently with an expression of shock on their faces. Dumbledore turned to address them. "As you can see, things are not exactly going as planned. In fact they almost never do. I assume that you gathered that this competition will have not three, but four champions, the fourth being Mr. Potter here. Now please move to your sleeping quarters, I shall be speaking with your headmaster, and headmistress alone. Tomorrow, you shall learn of your tasks. Good night everybody! Sleep Well!"

With that, the four students moved slowly from the room looks of confusion seemingly permanently fixed on their faces.

"Harry, wait. I would like a word." Harry turned to face Professor Dumbledore. "I am not sure how this happened, but according to the rules of the tournament, you must take part. It will be very difficult, but I think you can handle it, don't you?"

Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "er… I think so…"

Excellent, I am sure Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger will be quick to assist you, yes? Well, you better not keep them waiting!"

Harry nodded. "erm… thank you, Professor." And with that, he ran up to the Gryffindor common room.


	2. Questions Unanswered

**Thank you to the people who read this! I hope you like it! Here is chapter two, review, review, review! (that rhymes, I am dreadfully sorry!!!)**

Harry had not slept well at all. The minute he had returned to the common room, every Gryffindor had been on top of him, cheering and chanting his name. Finally, when he had managed to escape them to go talk with Ron and Hermione, they only made things worse. Ron could hardly say anything, and Hermione was quickly making up for his lack of speech by describing every calamity that was sure to befall Harry. Finally Harry had convinced them that he was tired, and made his way to bed. The fact was though, that he hadn't been tired, and he lay awake most of the night going over the events in his head. And now it was morning, and Harry had to meet with Dumbledore and the other Headmasters to find out what he would have to do.

Not cheered by these prospects, Harry rolled out of bed and fumbled for his clothes. He straightened his glasses and shoved his wand in his pocket before quietly opening the door so as not to wake Ron and the others. The last thing Harry needed right now was more people asking him about the tournament. Slowly he crept down the stairs to the common room where the armchairs about the fire were in disarray because of the excitement of the night before. Suddenly, Harry realized that there was someone sitting in one of these armchairs. Harry slowed his pace and tried to make absolutely no noise at all as he moved to the portrait exit.

"Harry, is that you?" Harry let out a sigh of relief. It was Hermione.

"Yeah, I was just going to… go for a walk or something, to avoid, well you know…"

Hermione nodded. "I was hoping you would come down. This book is fascinating, but I would rather talk to someone." She held up a heavy volume on what appeared to be none other that Triwizard Tournaments of the past. "I wanted to see if anything like this every happened before. So far, nothing, but I am only halfway through!"

"I see," said Harry. "And how many of those champions died horrible, gruesome deaths?" His tone was sarcastic, but he really was interested.

"Well," Hermione looked down at her hands, "it was before all of the safety precautions, so quite a few of them… I don't think anything like that will happen to you. Most of those deaths were intended anyway, and nobody that I can think of wants to kill you-" She broke off there.

Harry walked toward the portrait to leave the common room "I seem to remember someone trying to kill me about, oh I don't know FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS!"

"-Harry, really-"

"His name happens to be Lord Voldemort, and I would be happy to introduce you next time he comes after me. This would be, what the sixth time, maybe?"

"Honestly Harry, I don't think, I mean… you-know-who can't be behind this too, could he? All that security…" Hermione trailed off.

"Dumbledore certainly thinks it's possible. I heard him talking about it with Professor McGonagall after I left last night. They are planning of having me watched all the time or something ridiculous like that." Hermione just looked at him with a piteous look in her eyes. "S'pose I'll need my cloak if I ever want any time to myself." Harry chuckled dryly to himself.

"C'mon, let's go get something to eat before you find out what you have to do."

Harry nodded, happy for the company.

**Sorry it was so short, but it was a fast update! I will write more soon, I promise! **

**fizzypinklemonade**


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